Pompeo voices hope Kim will deploy team for nuclear talks

By Song Sang-ho

BANGKOK, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday voiced hope that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will deploy his negotiation team, reiterating that the U.S. is "ready to go."

Pompeo made the remarks amid limited progress in the efforts to resume working-level nuclear talks as agreed by U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim during their impromptu meeting at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the Koreas on June 30.

"We stand ready to continue our diplomatic conversation with the North Koreans," he said during a joint press conference with Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai.

"We hope that Chairman Kim will deploy his team. Representative (for North Korea) Biegun said we can continue the dialogue so that we can ultimately achieve what those two leaders set up back in Singapore in summer of last year," the secretary added.

Washington's top diplomat went on to say, "I am optimistic that that will happen before too long, and we are looking forward to the chance to reconnect with them in a formal way diplomatically."

Following the DMZ summit, Washington and Pyongyang were expected to resume their working-level talks around the middle of July.

Clouding the prospects for the resumption of the talks, the North recently fired off short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea in an apparent protest against the plan by Seoul and Washington to stage a combined military exercise.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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